Balls, Masks, and Tears
by xXHeart of GoldXx
Summary: Glinda throws a ball for Elphaba's 25th birthday without the rest of the Ozians really knowing what the ball is actually for, other than another public event hosted by Glinda the Good. After dancing with a man who reminds her of someone, it becomes too much for her and Glinda goes into the attic of the palace to be alone and remember her best friend. But is she really alone?


Disclaimer: Obviously, I own nothing related to Wicked or the lullaby used from Dumbo.

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Glinda stood at the top of the stairs to the ballroom. It was her ball in the Emerald City Palace that she was hosting for just a random event. Everyone talked about how the ruler of Oz threw the most amazing dances, banquets, and parties. The one thing the blonde knew she was good at was having amazing events; it was part of her old self that still existed. The rest of it, though, Glinda was a completely new person, including emotionally. She stood in her beautiful ball gown that went straight down to the floor instead of her usual poofy dresses. She had decided to change it up a bit. The gown was a deep green, matching the jeweled mask she wore.

The mask was silver, covering the upper part of her face. It had emeralds on it to match her dress. Her hair was done up in a bun with an emerald tiara she had made specifically for the occasion. She knew she looked beautiful when everyone's eyes looked at her in awe; the musicians had stopped playing, people stopped dancing, and others stopped eating to glance at the beautiful ruler of Oz. Needless to say, the Ozians loved her more than the Wizard considering she had parties, was a competent leader who listened to other's concerns, and made public appearances as much as she possibly could.

The reason behind this ball was simple, yet not a soul would ever know except her own and maybe Dr. Dillamond who was escorting her down the red velvet steps; it was her best friend's twenty fifth birthday. Elphaba Thropp would have been twenty five if she was still alive. Even though she couldn't be there, Glinda wanted to throw her a birthday party anyway, even if nobody knew about it.

Glinda clutched Dr. Dillamond's arm tightly, afraid she'd lose the only person in the world she could somewhat confide in. She was nervous, and she wished she had her corset tightened more than it already was so that her waist was smaller.

She smiled, made a quick thirty second speech about how wonderful it was everyone could attend, and then the music started, dancing continued, people continued their conversations, and people began gobbling down the hors devours.

"Might I say, you're looking very beautiful tonight, Miss Glinda," Dr. Dillamond said after the two sat down at slightly raised table so that she was higher up than everyone else. She smiled genuinely at the only person there who understood her, and she never would have known in the past that her only friend would be her history teacher.

"Thank you," she replied. "And you're looking very handsome yourself," she complimented his black and white tux.

"Thank you," he said. They were silent for a while; the blonde was admiring the red velvet staircase and the high gold ceiling. Before she ruled, everything about every room had been green. Although it was one of her favorite colors, it was too much green, and she had the entire palace redone. When it had been finished, the Ozians thought it was the most beautiful palace in existence. Glinda had to admit that the large amounts of construction and designing that had gone on took her mind off of Elphaba's death.

"I should've had this tightened more," Glinda said self-consciously about her corset.

"Nonsense, that waist of yours is small enough as it is," the Goat responded as he ate something off of his plate. Glinda didn't touch her food. "If it was any tighter, you wouldn't be able to breathe in my opinion." Glinda rolled her eyes at him and was careful not to lean against the back of the chair.

"It's her birthday today," Glinda said.

"I know it is," Dr. Dillamond replied. "The emerald theme of your attire gave that away." Glinda smiled.

"I'm that obvious, aren't I?" Their conversation was interrupted by a man wearing a mask approaching the table. She turned towards him and looked up.

"Excuse me, Glinda the Good, but may I have this dance?" She really didn't feel like dancing. She looked over at the Goat who told her silently that she didn't have to if she didn't want to, but she took the man's hand anyway.

"Yes you may," she responded as he helped her up.

A waltz began to play and she fell into the rhythm, letting this man lead her around the dance floor. She had one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand while one of his hands fit her waist perfectly. As she danced, she looked into his eyes and saw that they were brown. She gasped when she felt as if she was dancing with Fiyero, another who died too young. She immediately stopped dancing and he gave her a confused look. He even smelled like him; it was too much. She put a hand on her forehead. "What's the matter? Why'd you stop?"

"I'm sorry," she breathed, her heart racing. "I seem to have a headache." Glinda backed away before running up the grand staircase, probably causing commotion; she couldn't see a thing as she began to cry heavily.

It was getting hard for her to breathe as she sobbed in front of her vanity. She let out a yell as she pulled the strings of her corset instead of untying them, and broke them. She kept the green dress on. She couldn't look at herself with her makeup and mascara running down her face. She pulled her hair out from the bun. She had ripped the mask off before and tripped over it when she got to her closet. She took out a black cloak and a pointy black hat. She put the hat on (it actually fit over her tiara) and clipped on the cloak before grabbing a present and a birthday card with Elphaba written neatly on the envelope.

The small blonde ran as fast as she could up the spiraling staircase to the attic. "Miss Glinda!" she heard Dr. Dillamond in the distance, but she refused to turn around to stop and wait for him. She had to be alone. No one could see her like this as she cried her eyes out.

She locked the door to the attic. She got to the center of it and put the present on the floor along with the birthday card. Glinda took the hat off and held it close to her chest. "Happy birthday, Elphie," she sniffed. "You're twenty five today…or you would be. I got you a present. Oh, why aren't you here with me today? Ruling all of Oz isn't fun without my best friend by my side…"

Glinda clutched the hat tighter and squeezed her blue tear filled eyes shut. She remembered a time when Elphaba had come into their dorm room back in Shiz looking ready to cry. The green girl's lip had trembled. Glinda had coerced her into telling her what was wrong. It turned out that the green girl had been bullied terribly that day to the point where she was ready to just give up.

Glinda didn't remember exactly what she said to Elphaba, but she remembered helping her out of her rain jacket and thick, heavy boots that protected her feet from getting wet and burnt. The blonde had brought Elphaba over to her own bed and had her lay beside her. "_Baby mine, don't you cry," _Glinda began to sing along with her memory.

"_Baby mine, dry your eyes."_ Glinda remembered taking tissues and dabbing them against Elphaba's tears so she didn't burn herself. _"Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine."_ Presently, Glinda cried at the memory. How had she remained so calm back then? Her singing voice at that time had been so gentle that even Elphaba let Glinda guide her head over to her breast. Glinda had used one hand to dab at Elphaba's eyes and the other ran through her raven locks in a motherly fashion.

Glinda wrapped the cloak around her tightly and let the black hat touch her face. She began to rock back and forth as she continued the lullaby, _"Little one, when you play, don't you mind what they say."_ In the memory, Glinda kissed the top of Elphaba's head. _"Let those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine_." Glinda had hugged Elphaba tightly, and currently she kept the cloak around her, and it did a good job in covering her entire body excluding her feet. Glinda was just about five feet tall while Elphaba stood at five feet and eight inches.

"_If they knew sweet little you_," Glinda sang, her voice muffled by the hat. She thought about the Ozians who had hated her so much and cried harder. She should have just cleared her name back then. At present time, it didn't matter because most people forgot about the Wicked Witch of the West and moved on with their lives. _"They'd end up loving you, too,"_ Glinda choked back a sob. _"All those same people who scold you, what they'd give just for the right to hold you,"_ Glinda cried and nuzzled the hat with her cheek. Why was Elphaba gone?

"_From your head to your toes," _Glinda heard a voice but ignored it, thinking her imagination was getting the better of her. "_You're so sweet, goodness knows,"_ the voice sang again. Glinda felt someone kiss the top of her curls and remove the tiara that was digging into her scalp. She held the hat tighter. _"You are so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine."_ With tears falling freely down her face, she leaned her head back and saw a very pretty green face staring down at her. Elphaba smiled at her as calm and collected as always as the blonde slowly turned around.

"Elphie," Glinda cried and crawled onto Elphaba's lap. She let the green girl rock her back and forth. She still clutched the hat closely to her. She nuzzled her cheek against Elphaba's chest, completely not believing that this was happening. How was Elphaba alive after she had seen her die? It didn't matter to Glinda. She was just glad she was here.

"I'm right here, my sweet," Elphaba whispered.

"Happy birthday," Glinda let herself smile and tried her best to get even closer to Elphaba if that was even possible.

"Thank you." After minutes of silence and Glinda's tears had subsided, the blonde opened her eyes and looked up at Elphaba who was patiently waiting for her to get her emotions together. She threw her arms around the slim girl and gave her a proper hug.

"I missed you so much, Elphie," Glinda said quietly.

"I missed you, too," she replied.

"Are you staying this time? Or do I have to let you go again? Wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know. Not yet." Glinda was afraid she'd hear the disappointing answer that Elphaba had to leave. But to her surprise, Elphaba pushed her away to look the blonde in the eyes.

"I'm going to be a constant in your life until my _real_ dying day," Elphaba said seriously, emphasizing the word, real, in that statement. "Now, is that my birthday present?"


End file.
